Use-Wear and Residue Analysis in Archaeology

This book is designed to act as a readily accessible guide to different methods and techniques of use-wear and residue analysis and therefore includes a wide range of different and complementary essential topics: experimental tests, observation and record methods and techniques and the interpretation of a diversity of tool types and worked raw materials. The onset of use-wear studies was marked by the development of theory, method and techniques in order to infer prehistoric tools functionality and, therefore, understand human technological, social and cultural behavior. The last decade of functional studies, use-wear and residue analysis have been aimed at the observation, recording and interpretation of different activities and worked materials found on archaeological tools made on different types of organic and non-organic materials. This international group of contributions will be fundamental for all researchers and students of the discipline.

Joao Marreiros is an archaeologist working as a post-doctoral researcher (FCT-grant) in the Interdisciplinary Center of Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICARhEB), Universidade do Algarve (Portugal) and in the Departamento de Arqueologia y Antropologia de la Instituicion Mila I Fontanals, del Consejo Superior de Investigacionres CIentificas (CSIC, Catalonia). He’s research focuses stone tools technology and functionality from the Early Upper Paleolithic in Western Europe, particularly on techno-typological and use-wear analysis of lithic tools from the Early Upper Paleolithic industries from Iberian Peninsula with special interest in human ecological behavior and the first evidences of Anatomical Modern Humans industries in this region. He, in collaboration with the other two editors, organized the International Conference on Use-Wear analysis 2012, held in Faro (Portugal).

Juan Gibaja received his PhD in Archaeology & Prehistory from Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona in 2002. From 2006-2011 he worked as a post-doctoral fellow at the Universidade do Algarve (Portugal) funded by Fundacao para a CIencia e Tecnologia (FCT). Currently, since 2011, he is an Ramon y Cajal researcher at the Departamento de Arqueologia y Antropologia de la Instituicion Mila I Fontanals, del Consejo Superior de Investigacionres CIentificas (CSIC). During the last decade, he headed several research projects focus on lithic use-wear analysis. His research focuses on the key transition phases from Late and Early Prehistory: the transition between the last Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans and the transition from the last hunter-gatherers from the Mesolithic to the first farmers of the Neolithic in the Occidental Mediterranean.

Nuno Bicho received his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Southern Methodist University in 1992. He is currently an Associate Professor of Archaeology at the Universidade do Algarve, Portugal. He was Dean between 1998 and 2001 and 2005-2007. In addition, Bicho is the Director of the Interdisciplinary Center of Archaeology and Evolution of Human Behaviour at the University of Algarve. He specializes in Paleolithic ecodynamics and his research focused on prehistoric costal hunter-gatherers of southern Iberia for the last two decades. More recently he has also developed research on the Mesolithic of the Tagus Valley and on Middle Stone Age of Mozambique.